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Time to die for the French -- at least the ones who decided to invade Luxembourg and Trier. With the help of 24 divisions from Eupen, Liege and Saarbrücken, the five French divisions in Luxembourg are attacked, while at the same time, Field Marshal von Salmuth with his six infantry divisions is ordered to delay a possible escape of the four French divisions in Trier. Unfortunately, the French have for once a good idea and order a retreat from Trier to Luxembourg which prevents the destruction of their forces. Retrospectively it would have been better to leave Trier unassaulted. The battle in Luxembourg is nevertheless concluded with a victory shortly, as well as the battle of Chartres. Caen is also captured. The spearheads of von Manstein and Guderian, respectively, proceed on their set routes.

The French move a part of their divisions from Trier to Luxembourg, so I try to correct my mistake by aborting the attack on Trier. And indeed, two divisions remain stationed in Trier, which will allow us to destroy them as soon as the second battle of Luxembourg is won.

Meanwhile, a somewhat delicate situation emerges in the south. Von Manstein is cut off and trapped in Orleans, as I underestimated the mobility of the isolated French one division corps which are still active enough to retake undefended provinces. This "encircelement" will be broken by Manstein supporting the ongoing battle of Troyes. Also, as undefended Paris is approached by an enemy division from Evreux, I order Guderian to deviate from his route and crush the French attackers in Evreux.

Hausser, who is in charge of the battle of Luxembourg, becomes a hills fighter.

Then, the events come thick and fast. The Belgian government unconditionally surrenders, giving us full control over Continental Belgium. However, at the same time, the British seize the Belgian transport fleet and annex the Belgian Congo colony. Also, out of nowhere, a British division appears in Liege -- let's just pretend that it never happened before I suffer from another headache ...

I nearly fall of my chair. Really! In a blink of an eye -- I indeed blinked in this very moment! -- the map is crowded with Italians. Just look at them! They probably used strategic redeployments to move their divisions, but it is also possible that among the Italian blueprints I received, a construction plan for a teleportation device was hidden. Either way, of course this is the worst scenario that could possibly happen, as the Italians -- naturally -- destroy my plans to encircle the French divisions in Trier by launching an attack against Trier, thus expelling the French divisions there to Luxembourg. Didn't I say "We do not want forces from Italy" some time ago?! Oh, please, don't tell me that this option only prevents Italian Expeditionary Forces, not Italian trolling operations that are controlled by Rome. I know this ... I know this. On the optimistic side, they will probably capture -- if we're lucky -- another additional French province for us, curtailing Case Yellow by approximately two hours.

Concerning the administrative front: Our reinforcements have arrived almost everywhere, so considering that the French are either way doomed, I shift my industrial capacities to upgrades again, so that we will have more quality forces against the Soviets.

By ordering two additional infantry corps to seize Evreux (sorry, I've forgotten to write down from where they attacked, I hope you won't be too angry ), we are able to stop the French attempts to recover their capital. The Italians also fail to make any serious moves in South France due to the arrival of another French infantry division in Chamberry.

Another round of very inconvenient events. The Soviets annex Latvia, the Polish are able to disrupt one of our interceptor PRs (fortunately, not the one which is currently active) and the British guarantee the Greek independence. I don't know if Benito deserves the troll face more than Churchil here ...

Finally, with the two infantry corps from Evreux, von Rundstedt's HQ and Guderian's spearhead we start the invasion of undefended Brittany, while at the same time, the battle of Troyes is finally concluded with a victory. The Italians manage to capture Nice and Toulon, temporarily (the French are already counter-attacking and will probably win, so it's not really estimable) while the Soviets move now very quickly and annex Estonia. Also, the United States and the United Kingdom sign the Destroyers for Bases agreement, and the French start a serious counter-attack on Troyes with six divisions.

I respond to these numerous inconveniences by influencing Bulgaria and Finland. Finland's hawk lobby slider was maximised due to this. And the French counter-attack on Troyes is quickly dispersed as soon as seizable forces enter the province.

Last edited by K W; 28-08-2011 at 23:26.

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. – George Orwell

I'm a little bit in a hurry, so I couldn't proof-read the last update, but will catch up on it later. I hope that you will forgive any mistakes I made. Especially the amount of paragraphs needs a review.

Originally Posted by Gusbrown

Hope your holidays were of a most excellent variety. Good to see you back and finish the French. Still watching. Go get 'em.

Thank you.

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. – George Orwell

surprises everywhere, heads up on the brits, they will back door you every chance they get, I realize it's your game, but i would take control of the Italians, leaving them to AI is probably going to cost you alot of grief, Italian AI is quite incompetent. Good to see you still pressing on, been playing World of Tanks but check in to DH forum for interesting tidibits and, of course, your aar.

This is an excellent AAR, true to form in every respect. Please do not give it up, I can't wait for Barbarossa (even though the Italians will probably decide to surrender to the Allies in the middle of it ). I am especially interested in how you prepare for it, you seem to be very methodical about the way you play this game (you're German, after all ).

"Superior training and superior weaponry have, when taken together, a geometric effect on overall military strength. Well-trained, well-equipped troops can stand up to many more times their lesser brethren than linear arithmetic would seem to indicate." - Spartan Battle Manual

<etranger01> At best I can hope for Lesser Satan status
---
<Frymon-[Mailbox]> Obama's policy abroad is like sitting in a corner eating glue
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<RedNomNoms> Johnson is indeed good at Johnsoning
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*in reference to Ceausescu* <sealy> and that isn't caucasuescu
---
<etranger01-[iPhone]> So I may have invaded Egypt a little bit
<storm1> I know, I am debating whether to give egypt a nuclear bomb or not

The rest of August progresses quite calmly, so I'm speeding up a little bit. We unopposedly capture several provinces in Brittany and receive 1938 airborne infantry blueprints from Italy. Our non-aggression pact with Turkey regularly expires and Field Marshal von Brauchitsch gains the Ranger trait. General von Witzleben and his six infantry divisions in Reims are ordered to support the still ongoing battle of Sedan.

On the 1st of September, 1939, the French government begs our beloved Führer for peace, seeking an armistice with the Axis powers. France's downfall is almost sealed ... We ask the French for a historical partition of their mainland, as only claiming Paris and the north would unnecessarily strain our IC and battle performance by increasing our dissent and a total annexation of Metropolitan France would be probably refused by the French and instead allow a French-British Union.

The battle of Sedan, the only battle that is still fought, is aborted shortly after the French ask for peace. No need to spill the blood of my soldiers (actually, it's the manpower pool I'm concerned with ) when France is about to surrender anyway ...

Three days later, the French government informs us that they have refused Churchill's proposal for a French-British union and instead decided to accept my generous terms for an armistice. The Armistice of Rethondes is signed, and France will soon transfer the corresponding parts of its territory to us. At the same time, the Soviets finish subjugating the Baltics with the annexation of Lithuania, while we sign the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Japan.

As I don't intend to permanenty control the French territory, I will probably start giving them their territory back via the diplomacy menu as soon as possible. With a Nationalist Spain in the south, and no Sea Lion in the near future, I really don't have a use for the French provinces except for the meager IC and resources yield. Besides, it spares me the placement of guard divisions at the Atlantic Coast, as Vichy France won't be automatically at war with the Allies. Also, with the Fall Attila decision I could annex Metropolitan France entirely if the Allies advance too much by taking Rome or Africa. I'm also thinking about setting up puppet governments in the Low Countries, too. Decisions, decisions ... I will take a look at the economic implications of giving French territory back and releasing puppets later. Forfeiting a small amount of IC is viable if it spares me the placement of guard divisions in the West. I will need my entire army to bring the Soviet behemoth down in 1939.

One day later, I enforce a "trade agreement" on the Swiss. In exchange for postponing an attack on Switzerland, I will receive eight tons of supplies monthly. Which is really nice, considering that I'm spending between 30 and 40 points of my IC on supplies and thus will free up some IC points for use in different places.

On the 6th of September, the French transfer their territory as mandated by the armistice. Notice that the sneaky Italians managed to capture some territory on the Mediterranean coast during the final hours of the Third Republic. However, I guess that the ultimate borders will be corrected by some subsequent events, so the Italians won't enjoy Marseille for too long.

While the fighting in Rotterdam with the lone British division is still ongoing, I prepare the redeployment of my forces towards the Polish border for Case White. I estimate that the redeployment process will consume another two weeks, so we will strike at Poland around the 20th of September. Of course, I would have preferred to bring the Polish to book punctually on the 1st of September, but I guess that would have required a larger air force, and this in turn a smaller army -- but I need a large army for the Soviets. I guess we performed to the best of our abilities.

The Luftwaffe will be rebased to Breslau and Königsberg. General von Witzleben's infantry corps will be sent to the Yugoslavian border in order to protect Austria from the ramifications of an Italian Tour de Balkans. I'm also sending von Reichenau and his infantry corps to Paris, just in case if I decide to occupy France for a little bit longer. Reichenau and the other divisions, as well as a part of von Witzleben's otherwise oversized infantry corps, will be moved with strategic redeployments to the east; without regard to our TC to allow a seamless continuation of World War II.

Schedule of Case Yellow

Capture of Amsterdam until the 23rd of July, 1939.

Total occupation of the Netherlands, including firm control of the Middelburg-Eindhoven-Maastricht line until the 30th of July, 1939.

Capture of Brussels until the 16th of August, 1939.

Launch of a first spearhead attack against Paris through Bruges until the 16th of August, 1939.

Launch of a second spearhead attack against Paris through Brussels or Mons until the 23rd of August, 1939.

Capture of Paris and total occupation of Belgium until the 30th of September, 1939.

French capitulation until the 30th of October, 1939.

This concludes Case Yellow. Stay tuned for a short review of the Fall of France in the next update while my divisions are occupied with their deployment to the eastern parts of the Reich.

Last edited by K W; 03-09-2011 at 01:20.

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. – George Orwell

surprises everywhere, heads up on the brits, they will back door you every chance they get, I realize it's your game, but i would take control of the Italians, leaving them to AI is probably going to cost you alot of grief, Italian AI is quite incompetent. Good to see you still pressing on, been playing World of Tanks but check in to DH forum for interesting tidibits and, of course, your aar.

I hope that you're still reading despite the recent update delay. My god, almost three weeks ...

Originally Posted by Winner

This is an excellent AAR, true to form in every respect. Please do not give it up, I can't wait for Barbarossa (even though the Italians will probably decide to surrender to the Allies in the middle of it ). I am especially interested in how you prepare for it, you seem to be very methodical about the way you play this game (you're German, after all ).

Thank you. I have indeed already some thoughts and ideas for Barbarossa in my drawer, but I don't know if my forces will be sufficient to carry out my plans one-to-one ...

Originally Posted by MastahCheef117

Crush the Frenchies! Take no prisoners!

I'm not a cruel person. The French may live on unharmed, now that they have a sound government!

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. – George Orwell

Do you plan to start the campaign in the East during autum or winter? O_o IMO you should take out Poland in 1939, but leave Soviets for 1940.

If the Winter War occurs, yes. My spies estimate that the Soviets have 146 divisions -- combined with the Finns, and not counting in possible Hungarian, Italian, Romanian and Bulgarian support, I actually have numerical superiority over them in 1939 ... The winter modifiers for battles look extremely frightening, yes, but since the start of this AAR I'm perpetually gambling, so the risk of losing is not really an argument against it.

However, the summer of 1940 sounds also like a good option. My IC need for upgrades is over 750, which is a very strong argument for postponement. Hmm ...

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. – George Orwell

Are you going to take that event that permits you to cede your chunk of metropolitan France for a higher chance at allying with Vichy (I think it's the Montoire conference, and I don't remember if there's a dissent penalty or something like that), or have you decided that you actually don't want an alliance of any sort with them?

Ah yes, "Vandals". The invincible race of warriors and pirates allegedly occupying Africa. We have dismissed that claim.

I also strongly advise against attacking the Soviets in the winter. It's unlikely you'd make much headway over the frozen terrain, and it would give the Soviets time to redeploy and dig in - plus they'll probably get some bonuses once the war with Germany starts. Finish off Poland (and Yugoslavia, since the Italians will surely drag you into the Balkan mess) first, and launch Barbarossa in late spring/summer 1940. The Soviets should still be relatively unprepared.

"Superior training and superior weaponry have, when taken together, a geometric effect on overall military strength. Well-trained, well-equipped troops can stand up to many more times their lesser brethren than linear arithmetic would seem to indicate." - Spartan Battle Manual

Yeah, winter offensives against the USSR are the height of folly without at least mountain divisions, and you've rejected those on the grounds of cost. I'll add my voice to the "wait till spring" chorus.

Ah yes, "Vandals". The invincible race of warriors and pirates allegedly occupying Africa. We have dismissed that claim.

Nice conclusion of Fall Gelb. I would suggest you wait until some event fires about Spanish cooperation / Vichy cooperation in which you can trade land for a Vichy ally, although it would be better if a neutral Vichy would guard the beaches, less beaches to take care of in case some Brits try to get to Berlin quick.

Furthermore, I would wait until you have defeated Poland, upgraded the most important bits of your army and invade in 1940 as soon as the snow/mud etc. allows it...

Attacking SU in winter would be the most foolish move, they would surely crush you . Spend time to get more armored divisions, airplanes and airports (you are building them, aren't you?) online and go for a 1940 spring offensive.